Not the Only One
by unseeablefuture
Summary: Harry is incredibly bored of everyone trying to set him up with the only other gay guy they know - particularly as that guy was Michael Corner. Harry just wishes something would change - and it does upon his discovery of Draco Malfoy, beaten and bloody, in the corner of a corridor. Harry will have to put aside his past prejudices if he is to ensure Malfoy makes it through 7th year.


**Hope you enjoy! Let me know with a review! **

/

Harry had been kind of worried when he told Ron and Hermione that he was gay, that both of them would react in some horrendous way and banish him from their lives forever. Hermione, of course, had taken it in her stride, and if Harry was honest he kind of thought she made have already suspected it before even he did. Ron, however, had clearly found it slightly more difficult to know how to react to the news, but Harry supposed the way he did could be worse.

"Mate," Ron said, as they both lay on their beds on a stormy Saturday afternoon, "Someone told me Michael Corner's gay now, caught him with some sixth-year guy down by the greenhouses."

"Ron?" Harry said, slightly disbelievingly, "You do remember that Michael Corner is a right knob, right?"

"Well, yeah, I know," Ron said, "But you know, I just thought you might want to have options, that's all."

"Mate, he's not an option, he's a prick and everyone knows it," Harry said, and Ron murmured in agreement. "I just thought you might like to have someone to take to the ball on Saturday night. You have to have someone."

"I just won't go, it's fine. To be honest I'm not that pumped about the idea of going to a ball at Halloween anyway - Nearly Headless Nick has invited me to his Death Day Party again and it was a bundle of laughs last time. You and Hermione deserve a nice night together without me third-wheeling on it anyway," Harry said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"You have to come!" Ron said, "I mean I want you there anyway, and I think Hermione will bloody kill me if you don't come. To be honest, if you asked Ginny - as a friend of course - then I bet she would go with you."

Harry didn't really want to talk about this anymore, so got up and pretended to look for the essay he needed to finish, hoping Ron would drop it. Ron was oblivious to Harry's avoidance, but luckily his friend got distracted by looking for his own missing essay, leaving Harry to move away from the conversation. If he was honest though it did bother him that he had no clear prospects when it came to dating. Since realizing that the reason it hadn't been going anywhere with Ginny was because he preferred guys, it felt like everyone around him was finding someone to settle down with and he was being left in the dust. The battle at Hogwarts seemed to have pushed the thought into people's minds of how precious life and time were, and so people were jumping into relationships as if there would be no time tomorrow.

As both boys finally settled down into essay writing mood there was a knock at the door and in breezed Hermione. "Hey boys," she said, settling down on the end of Ron's bed, "Finally writing the potions essays? Hey - have you talked about who you're going to take to the dance yet Harry? I know he's a bit of an idiot but Michael Corner-"

"Actually I have to be somewhere," Harry said, leaping to his feet, "Got to send a letter."

Harry hurried out of the room, leaving his essays and friends abandoned behind him, and left through the portrait hole. For a few corridors, he was striding at a fearsome pace, his thoughts whirling around his head, but as he calmed down he slowly reduced his pace until he was walking normally. Muttering angrily to himself still, he rounded a corner and was faced with a sight that initially made no sense to his eyes. At the end of the corridor, in the shadowy recesses where the light of the flickering torches didn't reach, there was someone crouched down on the floor with two others standing over them. At first, Harry couldn't work out what the three of them were doing down there on a corridor that led only to the owlery, but when he saw the standing two suddenly lash out at the one on the floor he rapidly understood.

"Hey!" he yelled, "Hey, stop that!"

The two looked up at him, stopping their relentless attack, and backed away as Harry came jogging towards them. When Harry got closer he suddenly recognized the two leading the assault as two seventh years from Ravenclaw. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Harry yelled angrily.

"Stupid death eater scum deserves it," one spat, before both hurried past Harry, brushing into him as they went.

When they had hurried round the corner Harry finally had a chance to look down at who was quivering on the floor. Delirious and with his eyes rolling backward in his head, lay Draco Malfoy, blood rushing down his face and his arm looking bent at a funny angle. Harry felt a sudden surge of emotion, one that he couldn't quite place, as he looked down at the blonde boy. Dropping to his knees he quickly held Draco's head, trying to see if he was even aware Harry was there, but the eyes continued to roll and he lay limp on the floor. Cradling his head as carefully as he could, Harry scooped Draco up off the floor, knowing that whatever was in the past had to stay there for now.

It took nearly a full ten minutes to get to the Hospital Wing, the weight of the admittedly light boy weighing Harry down considerably, and by the time he burst through the doors, Harry was severely worried about how much blood must have been lost. Madame Pomfrey was forcing some Skelegrow down the throat of a grumpy looking first year as Harry entered, but immediately rushed over with a look of horror on her face. "Quickly put him here," she said, gesturing to the nearest bed, "And fetch Professor McGonagall and Snape at once if you please."

Twenty minutes later and Harry was back, with the two teachers in tow, but he could no longer see the blonde boy as a curtain had been drawn around his bed. He could hear frantic talking from behind the curtain and settled down on the edge of a bed, unsure what he was supposed to do now. Ten minutes later and Professor McGonagall re-emerged, looking angry and mildly upset too, and immediately honed in on him.

"Potter!" she said, "What on earth happened? Was this anything to do with you?"

Harry was honestly a little hurt that she would ever think he could do something so horrendous to anyone, even someone he didn't like such as Malfoy. "Of course not!" he said quickly, "I found Johnson and Spalding assaulting him near the owlery. I didn't know what to do apart from bringing him here."

Snape had emerged from behind the curtain now, and said, "Did you say Johnson and Spalding?" At Harry's confirmation, he quickly strode from the Hospital Wing, his face thunderous.

"How is he, Professor?" Harry asked.

"He's badly injured," she responded, and Harry could see an uncharacteristic flash of emotion in her eyes. "It's likely he'll take some time to recover. You did the right thing, Potter. Thank you. You should return to your dormitory now."

Harry left, as the sounds of Malfoy's groans filled the hospital wing. He spent the next few hours wandering until he found himself back at the same spot where he had found Malfoy. He cringed as he looked down at the blood staining the floor, and cast a quick Scourgify spell before finally heading back to the Gryffindor Tower to get some rest.

/

Harry was eating his third fried egg of the morning when Ron began choking on his orange juice. Looking up at his friend in confusion, he noticed his eyes fixed on something behind Harry's head. He whirled around to find Professor Snape standing there, sneering down at him.

"Mr. Potter, please accompany me to the Headmistresses office." Harry paused for a second. "_Immediately_."

Hermione and Ron both gave Harry questioning looks - he hadn't had the chance or really the desire to tell that what he had stumbled upon last night - and he sent them one back that hopefully promised he would explain everything later. Harry hurried out of the hall behind Snape, following in the wake of his billowing black robes, aware that everyone's eyes were on him. It was a fast walk to the Headmistresses office and before he knew it Snape was muttering "Tabby Cat" to the statue in front of the hidden staircase.

Snape led him into Professor McGonagall's Office, a completely different place than when Dumbledore had sat in this room. Gone were the unusual gadgets that used to whizz and whir on every surface. His phoenix Fawkes was no longer perched next to his desk - Harry briefly wondered where Fawkes had gone since Dumbledore's passing. He sat down in the seat opposite McGonagall - no longer padded and red, but wooded and hard.

"Mr. Potter, thank you for coming." Harry decided not to mention that Snape had hardly given him much of a choice.

"I wished to inform you that Mr. Johnson and Mr. Spalding are no longer allowed on the Hogwarts Grounds, and will not be returning. However, it became apparent to myself and Professor Snape upon questioning them that there are others who wish to harm Mr. Malfoy. They refused to offer up other names and whilst we can guess who those individuals are we cannot take action until we have proof."

Harry could also imagine who those people were likely to be.

"This leads us to what we would like to ask of you if you are to be agreeable, Mr. Potter. First, Mr. Malfoy will likely be in the Hospital Wing until the end of the next week. He will need someone to bring him his homework and also keep him up to date with what is happening within classes. As we are unsure of who can be trusted within his own house, we were rather hoping you might oblige. Secondly, when Mr. Malfoy does return to class, we are concerned that someone is keeping an eye on him. Of course, the staff and I will all be doing our utmost to ensure his safety but it is not practical for one of us to be with him at all times. We shall be moving Mr. Malfoy into a private room within the Gryffindor tower. We would like you to keep an eye on him - look out for any potential harm he may come to and ensure that if you hear of anything malicious you inform us immediately. Does this sound reasonable?"

Harry really felt like he should protest until he caught the eye of someone sitting behind Professor McGonagall. Albus Dumbledore's portrait hung at head height behind her. His eyes twinkled and his mouth quirked up in a smile, as he nodded his head at Harry.

"I suppose that's okay," Harry said, "But I don't know that he'll want me being anywhere near him. We're not exactly the best of friends."

"Professor Snape will speak to Mr. Malfoy," the Headmistress said. "Thank you, Potter."

Harry was dismissed from the office by a swift wave of Snape's hand, and he hurried back down the stairs, knowing he was going to have to do a lot of explaining to Ron and Hermione.

/


End file.
